Numerical simulation of a tubular ion-driven wind generator

The performance of a needle-ring, ion-wind generator has been studied for various spatial parameters by employing FEMLAB, a multi-physics numerical solver. Governing equations for the electrostatics, electrokinetic flow (EKF), and fluid dynamics were simultaneously solved by the software. Experimental measurements of the radial velocity profile at the exit of the generator agree well with the simulation, which predicted a large concentration of velocity at the core of the flow. For a ring of radius, r, equal to 1.27 cm, best performance is predicted for a ring length and needle-to-ring spacing of 2r and r, respectively.